All entries must be made using private equipment by hobbyist brewers. No professionally/commercially brewed beers permitted.

Competition organizers, sponsors, judge directors, registrars, judges, and stewards may enter competition. Measures will be taken to ensure fair, anonymous, and accurate judging. No judge or steward will be assigned to a category that they have entered.

Entrants may submit only 1 entry per standard subcategory except in specialty subcategories listed below. For example, participants may enter a Belgian Blonde (25A) and Belgian Saison (25B), but may not enter two Saisons, even if they are different brews.

Organizers may cap the number of entries at their discretion. The cap will be based upon the number of registered judges, so please volunteer as a judge!

ENTRY/BOTTLE ACCEPTENCE REQUIREMENTS:

Two bottles must be provided for each entry.

$8 per entry must be submitted through PayPal upon registration, or by check with each entry. Checks to be made out to the “New Jersey State Fair”. No cash accepted, and organizers bear no responsibility for cash accompanying entries. Unpaid or unregistered entries will be not be judged.

Standard 12 oz. bottles recommended. Bottles must be free of any labels, tape, etched logos, or other identifying marks.

Non-standard packaging formats are discouraged and will be allowed only for bottle-conditioned entries with PRIOR APPROVAL by organizers. If only one bottle is supplied, then that same bottle must be used if the entry progresses to Best of Show round, and carbonation, temperature, oxidation, and other issues may alter the character of the entry.

A bottle entry label must be attached to each bottle with a rubber band or a single strip of tape. DO NOT OVERPACKAGE - wrapping entire bottle with packing tape is unnecessary. Waterproof ink suggested.

It is the responsibility of the brewer to decide and indicate when registering, the appropriate category and subcategory for their entry. Categories and subcategories are designated in the BJCP Style Guidelines, a copy of which is available at the BJCP website http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php .

Be sure to specify base recipe/classic style for those categories that require it.

Entries may be dropped off or shipped (ship to North Jersey Homebrew only) to the specified establishments during the drop-off period noted above.

Early or late entries will not be accepted.

Entries that have not been entered through the online registration will not be accepted.

Do not ship entries via the US Postal Service.

The competition organizers are not responsible for miscategorized entries, mailed entries that are not received by shipping deadline, or entries that arrive damaged.

Entries may be rejected for questionable appearance, bottling, damage or failure to comply with these requirements.

Entries become the property of NJ State Fair Home and Hobby Division and bottles will not be returned to entrants.

Depending on the number of entries and category distribution, categories and subcategories may be combined or separated for judging and awards purposes. However, beers will be judged according to the category/subcategory in which they are entered.

Final category breakdowns will not be available prior to the competition and will be determined once all entries have been processed.

Each entry will be evaluated by at least two judges, preferably with at least one judge ranked BJCP Recognized or higher.

A final score will be assigned to each entry upon consensus of the judges. This score will not necessarily be an average of each judge’s score.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd places may be awarded in each category (or category grouping, since categories may be collapsed at discretion of competition organizer ) by a consensus of the judges responsible for that category.

Numerical scores are not the sole factor in awards.

Judges may refrain from awarding one or more places in a category or category grouping at their discretion.

The first place entry in each category or category grouping will be entered into the Best of Show (BOS) round.

The BOS round will consist of at least three judges who will sample each entry and determine a winner through consensus. The judges’ decisions are final.

Judging will be conducted during a closed session on Saturday, July 30, 2016, with additional sessions added if necessary.

Participants will be notified of the results via e-mail.

Awards will be presented on Saturday, August 6, 2016 at the Richards Building located on the fairgrounds.

First, Second and Third Place winners will be awarded a bottle ribbon and medal. The BOS round winner will receive a trophy. Additional prizes may be awarded.

Best of Show Award Info

The Best of Show (beer only) champion brewer will be asked to assist the brewer at Krogh’s Restaurant and Brew Pub, Sparta, NJ in producing the winning recipe to be sold at Krogh’s. The winner will be asked to name the beer which will be marketed as a “Seasonal”. Krogh’s reserves the full right to modify the winning recipe to conform to its brewery specifications and practices, brewing schedule, business requirements, and other considerations. Krogh’s reserves the right to decline to brew the beer if agreement on recipe and procedure cannot be reached. The winner will receive no monetary compensation for the sale of beer. Krogh’s usually brews the winning beer in the spring/summer of the calendar year following that of the competition to release as a summer (or other) seasonal and reserves the right to choose the brew date. In the case that a Cider, Mead, non-saccharomyces (sour/wild) beer, or other recipe declined by Krogh’s wins BOS, then a different prize will be substituted at the discretion of the organizers and the Krogh’s brewday will be awarded to the next highest ranked BOS entry that Krogh’s accepts.

Angry Erik Brewer’s Choice Prize Rules (Angry Erik Brewday)

Angry Erik Brewery in Lafayette will select a Brewer’s Choice winning entry, and the winning brewer will be invited to assist the brewer at Angry Erik producing the winning recipe to be sold by the Brewery. Angry Erik will choose from selected BEER ONLY categories (13 - Brown British Beer, 15 - Irish Beer, 16 - Dark British Beer, 18 - Pale American Ale, 19 - Amber & Brown American Beer, 24 - Belgian Ale, 25 - Strong Belgian Ale, 26 - Trappist Ale, 29 - Fruit Beer, 30 - Spiced Beer, 32 - Smoked Beer) according to the Brewery’s own criteria (not necessarily based upon scores and/or medals). Angry Erik reserves the full right to modify the winning recipe to conform to its brewery specifications and practices, brewing schedule, business requirements, and other considerations. Angry reserves the right to decline to brew the beer if agreement on recipe and procedure cannot be reached. The winner will receive no monetary compensation for the sale of beer.